Inconnu: The Final Nights
by DragonSummoning
Summary: Gehenna comes like a thief in the middle of the night, and all of the World of Darkness will suffer it... or maybe not? Inconnu POV, rated M for safety.


****A/N: Hello! I've been gathering up my ideas to keep moving on with my Naruto story: True Heritage, and I've come up with a story for those who like Vampire: The Masquerade (the role-playing game, not the PC version, which was good, but didn't capture the essence of this game), Here I leave you the beginning of the End, related from the most intriguing point of view ever: the Inconnu.

Inspired from the handbook: Lair of the Hidden, published by WW. Might take a look at the small amount of the Inconnu's information if you wish to understand things better, and check that handbook too.

I don't own WOD or any of its official characters that might appear, the other ones are mine, and, for whoever is interested, I'll be updating the character sheets as I present each of my characters. Also, expect some changes, but I'll explain in due time. Hope you enjoy, please read and review.

**Episode 1: The Inner Circle.**

"Well, you are around the Inner Circle, so I guess it's time for you to speak your minds."

The Round Table where the Inner Circle sat surrounded a young couple, perhaps 24 years old each (in appearance, at least). The man was brown-haired, the disordered hair covering his ears and reaching his shoulders, tanned skin, gray eyes, beard, quite athletic, dressed in a green sweater, dark-turquoise pants and black shoes. The woman was black-haired, her long, curly hair falling down her shoulders and her back, reaching her mid-back, white skin, black eyes, attractive body shape, dressed in a black mini-dress with dark-gray boots and a couple of silver bracelets. The man said, speaking to the black-haired man who had directed his word to them:

"Lord Cret, lords and ladies of the Inner Circle. We're here to ask you once again, in this night of the sacrifice, to break the Pact."

Cret looked at him like if he was just a young kid, even when he suspected that this man in front of him was even older than him, and he should respect him, even more after the rumors of him reaching the so-prized state of Golconda were confirmed as true. He said:

"Andrew, my friend, I know already that you've been asking for us to do this since almost fifteen years ago, but I must give you, once more, the answer that we've been giving you that many times about that subject: we must keep ourselves in secret until the Final Nights arrive."

A bald man who sat on the table chuckled before he spoke:

"As you know, Andrew, Clarisa, the Signs of the Final Nights have yet to show up. We've been expecting them to appear since fifteen years ago, and yet we have been given no reports about them."

Clarisa saw how all of the members of the Inner Circle nodded when she said, speaking to the bald man:

"Lord Pentweret, I presume that you haven't known of the late deceases of several of our Monitors around the world, am I right?"

Everyone in the Inner Circle opened their eyes wide towards Clarisa's words. Andrew nodded, and Cret asked:

"Deceases? You mean that they have been killed?"

Clarisa nodded:

"I'm sure they had. Many of their reports were intercepted by the Camarilla, the Sabbat, the Anarchs and the Black Hand, and, as they all fear us, thanks to the Usurpers, then these Monitors have been captured and tortured in order to release any information about your location. So far, no one has spoken, but they all have been slain, either in Blood Hunts by the Camarilla, or as part of Diablerie rituals in the Sabbat."

Andrew stated then:

"Also, the loss of the Princedom of Geneva by the hands of the Black Hand is a concerning situation that, so far, none of you has ever dared to even discuss. There are many Inconnu members being hunted down by the Sects who have kept so far in the Eternal Struggle, or as they call it (so improperly, by the way): the Jihad, and their calls for help have fallen onto deaf ears, as you don't seem to do a thing for them."

The Inner Circle started discussing right then and there. A curled-hair woman, also beautiful, who wore make-up on her face, replied:

"We have never received any information on any member of the Inconnu asking for our help in the last fifteen years."

Clarisa, who carried a backpack, retrieved a large wad of letters from it and showed them to the woman who spoke:

"Lady Drenis, this is just half of the different Inconnu members that have been slain in the last decade after not receiving your help. All of these letters were at the front door of the Castle. Whatever you've been doing inside here cannot justify that you can't send your servants outside to even check the mail in ten years, can it?"

Drenis was horrified after seeing the many names she could recognize from the letters:

"T-Thirty of our m-most loyal f-friends and comrades…"

Cret stood up and took the letters from Drenis' hands, checking them one by one. An old man, his hair white and disordered, his eyes already claimed by cataracts, a white tunic covering his body, and a silver medal with the shape of a triangle with an eye on each of its points, spoke sarcastically:

"I tooooold you all, that I could hear the screams of our own kind, but yeeeees, we are a lot more concerned in playing foul on each other and backstabbing each other, aren't we?"

An old, rustic woman who sat also on the table turned to him and said:

"Shut up, Demetrius! Damn, I still cannot tell when you speak truth and when you talk nonsense!"

Clarisa asked:

"Wait, wait, lady Danika; did lord Demetrius warn you about this and you didn't even bother to try and check if his words were true or not?"

Danika, surprised by Clarisa's words, and by the truth behind them, lowered her head in shame and said:

"Hmm, yes, we didn't…"

Andrew said:

"Out there several of the Signs of the Final Nights are manifesting themselves as we speak and all you've been doing is cowering in here?"

A dark-skinned man who wore mid-eastern clothing asked:

"Signs of the Final Nights? H-How is that? How many have appeared so far?"

Andrew said:

"Perhaps if you weren't so concerned about what the demon Nikanuuranu can do to you if you don't please him, lord Abdalkutba, then you could realize what's going on out there; or are you also being affected by these Final Nights, as none of you have overcome, or even faced, the Sigh?"

A young and athletic woman who sat beside Demetrius stood up and drew her sword, aiming at Andrew with rage and her forehead revealing a frightening red eye:

"How dare you to disrespect the Inner Circle like this, Andrew?!"

Demetrius took her hand and said:

"They are right, my dear child, please, don't make a butchery of innocents here, okay, Mahtiel?"

Mahtiel took a deep breath after seeing the benevolent face of Demetrius and put her sword back, her third eye shutting down until it became no more than a simple scar on her forehead. Cret said:

"This is outrageous! Our people have been discovered all around the world by now, and, if what you say is true, right now we must have less than a hundred people with us!"

Clarisa spoke:

"Actually, we've got seventy affiliated vampires that we know are still alive. Luckily, they're all Golcondites, so they haven't been affected by the Signs that have showed up so far."

Abdalkutba spoke then:

"I've been checking the skies every single night since the Pact started, and I have seen nothing in the stars that could give me any clue on those signs' appearance."

Clarisa replied:

"First of all, let's remember the Holy Bible: 'The Day of our Lord will come like a thief in the middle of the night', so, lord Abdalkutba, don't be too surprised of that."

Andrew spoke too, as Abdalkutba and the rest of the Inner Circle listened carefully:

"Else, you are inside the sphere of influence of a Demon, who isn't particularly interested in letting you see the truth, as you've chained it to the protection of this castle."

A man with eyeglasses and dressed in light clothing said:

"Very well, you've made several points there, but how can you be sure that we won't become victims of the Eternal Struggle once we abandon the Pact? And how can you be sure about the Signs of the Final Nights?"

A young and quite handsome man spoke too:

"Lord Eshmunamash is right! Also, how do you think that we can trust that Demon, if he can get revenge on us after we did what we did?"

Clarisa said:

"Lord Eshmunamash, lord Anastazi, you will be free to choose which path you will take once you get free of the Pact. On the other side, I think this demon has made you suffer enough after more than five hundred years, and it has fed a lot on your depression and your downfall, so it won't try and harm you after you release it."

A woman who covered herself in a veil and who covered her hair with a turban spoke:

"I don't consider this place safe anymore, if what you say is true, and if what these letters reflect is the actual times we live."

Andrew said:

"Lady Zamra, once you undo this Pact and know what's going on out there, you'll start to realize how late we are in our mission, and how disappointed would lord Saulot be of us all."

As Saulot's name was mentioned, everyone lowered their heads in shame. The loss of the Progenitor of the Clan Salubri was a low hit on them, as they followed his teachings about Golconda and the abandon of the lies of the Eternal Struggle in favor of regaining God's Mercy. Right then, an old servant arrived to the hall and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time of the Sacrifice has come, and the victim is ready in the hall."

The Inner Circle shut up immediately, checking the clock on the room's wall, and stood up, each one of them drawing a dagger. Andrew and Clarisa were about to try and stop them, but the old servant spoke softly, in a way that made them soothe up:

"Take it easy, my friends. You cannot break that Pact for them. Breaking the Pact is the Leap of Faith they need to take in order to finally reach Golconda."

Andrew was surprised to see the way the old man talked, and, as the group left to the central hall, Clarisa asked, almost whispering:

"L-Lord S-Saulot?! I-Is that you?!"

The old man nodded, making both Andrew and Clarisa smile:

"Yes, my friends. You've been able to reach the Golconda, so as the rest of your friends, and I'm glad that, so far, you've been able to keep things up within the Inconnu."

Andrew asked:

"But, haven't you been diablerized by Tremere?"

Saulot replied:

"Yes. Remember that, unlike you, I'm still bound to the Eternal Struggle, and it's my destiny to fight it until the end. I've already done my job, teaching the path of Golconda to my children and to you, vampires of the Inconnu, but I am the progenitor of the Clan Salubri, the Clan Baali, and now, of the Clan Tremere, all Clans who fight each other instinctively, and none of the the other Clans have gotten prepared for the Final Nights either. How long will they last? Only God knows that far. All I know is that you are bound by Divine Command to save the cursed souls you might consider worthy from the Gehenna."

Clarisa and Andrew thought for a while, seeing then that Saulot's words made complete sense. Being the Salubri the vampires more in touch with the Heavens, they had to be of the same kind as the vampires more in touch with the Hell, both being Saulot's children. She said then:

"The Inconnu is being attacked by the other Sects as we speak."

Saulot said, smiling:

"Just like my children were hunted by the Tremere for being a light of hope between the darkness of the vampire society. The hunt will become even tougher, and you won't have a place where to rest. You'll only be able to trust yourselves and your Golcondite partners."

Andrew asked:

"And, what about the rest of the world?"

Saulot said:

"They all will fall: werewolves, vampires, mages, fairies, wraiths, angels, demons, men; no one will be saved from God's Judgement. Now, go, and see if your efforts paid well or not. We'll meet outside, no matter the final results."

Andrew and Clarisa bid Saulot farewell, and the Antediluvian started walking out of the castle, chanting some prayers in some forgotten language.

As the couple ran to the central hall of the castle, the sacrificial hall, they saw how the twelve vampires of the Inner Circle started taking, one by one, small amounts of their own blood into a vase, and then all of the daggers were dipped on the blood mix. One by one, they all got close to the victim, a seven-year-old boy who was terrified, and aimed their daggers' pointy edges to the boy's heart. When the twelve of them got around the poor boy, Cret spoke:

"Lord Nikanuuranu, demon guardian of the Castle of Hunedoara, we're present in the night of the year that belongs to you…"

Andrew and Clarisa had never seen this ritual, so they feared that they would have to act to save the innocent boy. Then, Cret spoke:

"We've brought to you the innocent victim you ask us to bleed for you to keep our Pact for one more year…"

Andrew was being held by Clarisa with strength, when the daggers took enough impulse to dig deep into the child's heart, when, all of a sudden, after the nervous looks of all the members of the Inner Circle, the daggers were turned backwards, and were placed around the child, as Cret spoke:

"And we've decided not to give you the blood of a pure child's heart anymore. We want the Pact dissolved once and for all."

As these words were told, nervously, but at the same time firmly by Cret, the ground shook, the floor cracked and crumbled and the statue of Saulot fell to an inferior room, where there was an exact statue of Saulot, but which made a dark, mocking gesture with his face. The fallen statue was made in white marble, while the one which was in the basement was made out of black marble. The white statue had fallen right beside the black one, and then, out of the basement, a dark, black cloud showed up, and a dark face appeared from the hazy, evil cloud. It was Nikanuuranu, the great demon that guarded the Castle of Hunedoara, who now looked at the terrified yet serious vampires and grinned evilly:

"**FINALLY, YOU'VE DECIDED TO PUT AN END TO THIS CHARADE… WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG, JACKASSES?"**

As these words were said, the dark cloud vanished in the air, and both Andrew and Clarisa breathed deep, a lot more relaxed. The members of the Inner Circle were scared, and a tall and strong man, kind of a barbarian, spoke:

"What in the hell?"

Cret said:

"It's a servant of Hell, my child. There's not much to try understanding from all this, Hill; all you must care about is that we're free now."

A completely deformed character who actually resembled like a rotten giant toad spoke with a dark, grunting voice:

"So, what do we do now?"

"Now, you will do what you were supposed to do five hundred years ago, Bufo, my friends."

The whole Inner Circle got surprised by the words of the old man who spoke, one foot on each of the two statues that resembled him completely:

"M-Master… S-Saulot?! B-But, but how?!"

Saulot nodded and said:

"You've done well, even when you needed a little push that took fifteen years into making effect…" Saulot pointed at the skies and continued: "Even so, you're kind of a bit late, my friends. Look."

The whole Inner Circle looked to the skies and detailed the bright red star that shone over the night sky. Abdalkutba and Eshmunamash were ashamed and Zamra was scared. Anastazi just didn't care much, even when he knew what that red star meant, and Danika spoke:

"Anthelios, the Red Star…"

Saulot nodded:

"Yes. The red star has made its apparition in scene about ten years ago, when the Inconnu deceases started happening, and now, as you've finally been revealed, the rest of the signs will start showing up a lot faster. You'll have to start the Sigh right now, and you'll have to find the way to get through it and find God's Mercy within the next week, or you'll be caught by the Blood Weakening."

The Inner Circle nodded and Saulot turned to Andrew and Clarisa, saying:

"They, the Golcondites, must take the wheel now, at least during this week of absence of the Inner Circle, and, once you all reach Golconda, those who want to, it's your time to save as many people as you can, and prepare yourselves for a meeting with my grandfather…"

Mahtiel asked:

"Caine?"

Saulot nodded:

"He will keep himself as a spectator, and he will probably be content enough with that. Let the Concert of Fate speak once more, in order for those who are willing to listen to the call come to you and search for Golconda, and don't hesitate to even interfere with the world's downfall. Luckily, Caine will be there to listen to that concert, and perhaps you'll be able to speak to him before the hecatomb occurs."

Mahtiel asked again:

"And, while the hecatomb occurs, what do we have to do?"

"You will have to kill us, the Antediluvians, as Caine won't do it, the rest of the vampires are too weak to do such a thing, or are already bonded to them, the Werewolves are too busy dealing with the Wyrm and the Hunters will be going crazy with all the angels and demons fighting on Earth. Defeating us, the Third Generation, will grant you a special place in the Heavens, and we will look forward to complete our curse and our circle of hatred and struggle. Perhaps through you, Caine will be forgiven of all his uncountable sins."

Andrew and Clarisa nodded, realizing the tough battle they had to prepare themselves for; and Saulot said:

"Well, Andrew, Clarisa, it's your new mission to summon the rest of your partners and prepare the Last Concert of Fate. In a week, the Inner Circle will join you and show the world some of the strongest events these Final Nights will bring to us all. May God have mercy and apply justice on our souls."

Andrew and Clarisa nodded and left immediately, as Saulot took the vampires of the Inner Circle inside the hall with the two statues.

End of Episode 1.


End file.
